The Risk Factory is Scotland's first interactive, experiential community safety centre. The aim of the centre and all the agencies involved in it is to teach young people in particular how to stay safe and to help others do the same.

It has been designed and purposely built for Primary 7 children in Edinburgh and the Lothians to visit. Inside the building realistic settings are used as background to highlight specific safety messages. Actors and interactive sets help to create realistic scenarios. The sets used include a house, road, bus, shops, railway line and a building site to name but a few. The children are guided around the centre by a dedicated team of volunteers.

The centre has had immeasurable support from both the public and private sector, in the form of financial pledges as well as people time and expertise. The Centre first opened its doors to Primary 7 children in January 2007. Since then there has been an overwhelming interest from schools to book their visits to The Risk Factory, by the end of the current academic year 3163 young people will have visited the centre.

Minister for Community Safety, Fergus Ewing, said: "I am very pleased to officially open the Risk Factory. This an exciting and pioneering initiative that can help promote safety and prevent harm in homes and communities across Edinburgh and the wider Lothians region.

"The 'scenario areas' within the Risk Factory highlight the dangers our young people can face across a range of settings from the home, rivers and waterways to railway lines.

"By raising awareness about domestic and outdoor hazards and how to avoid these, it can prevent injury and spare families the trauma of accidents in the home, on our streets or in the countryside. By educating our young people about how best to respond to incidents, in a safe environment, it can help ensure our emergency services are well placed to respond effectively when accidents do happen.

"I'm pleased that the Executive has been able to support this exciting project and I wish it every success in the future."

Kathleen O'Connor has enjoyed working with children in a rewarding role as a Risk Factory volunteer. She said: "I think that as volunteers we play a crucial role in the success of The Risk Factory. We actually deliver the messages that the centre was designed to demonstrate which is great. Children benefit from both the visit itself and the documentation that they are given to reinforce the message. The Risk Factory is an absolutely worthwhile project, and I would love to see it developed further in the future."

For more information about The Risk Factory please visit the website: www.theriskfactory.org